The Florida men and Texas A&M women stood on top at the SEC Championships after Wednesday night.
TEAM STANDINGS
Men
1. Florida (486.5 points)
2. Auburn (346 points)
3. Texas A&M (324 points)
4. Georgia (314 points)
5. Alabama (287 points)
6. South Carolina (278 points)
7. Tennessee (261.5 points)
8. LSU (199 points)
9. Kentucky (196 points)
10. Missouri (186 points)
Women
1. Texas A&M (488 points)
2. Georgia (410 points)
3. Auburn (371 points)
4. Missouri (349 points)
5. Tennessee (344 points)
6. Kentucky (310 points)
7. Florida (238 points)
8. LSU (231 points)
9. South Carolina (203 points)
10. Alabama (187 points)
11. Arkansas (133 points)
12. Vanderbilt (30 points)
Florida Press Release
If you blinked, you probably missed it.
Florida added two more trophies to its shelf Wednesday night at the second day of SEC Championships, both from fast swims.
After today’s action, the Gator men move to first in the team standings with 486.5 points, and the women stay steady at seventh with 238 points.
The first title of the night came from Caeleb Dressel in his signature 50 free event. Dressel entered the race as the defending conference champion and threw down an 18.46 – the only sub-19 time – to collect 32 points. He now owns all seven of the top-7 marks in the 50 free all-time in yards.
"There's room for improvement, but I'm happy with the time for where I'm at now,” Dressel said post-meet.
Enzo Martinez-Scarpe also scored points for Florida in that race, finishing eighth in the A-final with a B-cut 19.67.
In the men’s 200 free relay, Dressel, Martinez-Scarpe, Jan Switkowski and Jack Blyzinskyj combined to win in an A-cut 1:15.67. Martinez-Scarpe led off, followed by Dressel, who would give Florida a lead it would not relinquish. Switkowski then split 18.90, and Blyzinskyj anchored with a 19.24 time.
That win marked the Gators’ second-consecutive title in the 200 free relay and a new school record.
“We've come a long way to get to this point, and it's just good to trust your teammates and get a good win for the team,” said Blyzinskyj.
Additionally, Dressel’s 17.86 split on the second leg tied Vladimir Morozov (2013) for the fastest 50-yard relay split of all-time. He had split 17.90 Tuesday night on the first-place 200 medley relay.
Florida also medaled in both the men’s 500 free and 200 IM.
Mitch D’Arrigo, the SEC’s 500 free champion back in 2015, fought hard to gain ground late in the event tonight. He ultimately placed second with an A-cut 4:12.71, earning a silver medal and 28 points for Florida.
Mark Szaranek and Jan Switkowski also won spots on the podium in the 200 IM. Szaranek finished as the runner-up by a slim .02 seconds, clocking an A-cut 1:41.30 and passing Ryan Lochte’s SEC meet record of 1:41.76 (however, this record is now held by Chase Kalisz, who won the event in 1:41.28). Switkowski finished with a bronze medal in a time of 1:42.25. Alex Lebed swam in the A-final as well, placing seventh with a B-cut time of 1:44.89.
Also in the 500 free, Blake Manganiello finished third in the B-final at 4:18.28, Andrew Brady placed fourth at 4:18.53 and Maxime Rooney finished seventh at 4:20.94. Khader Baqlah was the runner-up in the C-final at 4:19.54. All four times were B-cuts.
In the 200 IM, Brennan Balogh represented Florida in the B-final, finishing second at 1:45.06. Ross Palazzo used the breaststroke leg to his advantage in the C-final, placing third at 1:46.54. Both times were B-cuts as well.
On the women’s side, six Gators competed in the various finals.
In the 500 free, both Autumn Finke and Savanna Faulconer registered B-cuts. Finke swam to a fourth-place finish in 4:43.89, while Faulconer clocked a 4:44.85 to finish in seventh. Kahra Williams also swam a B-cut 4:45.61 to finish the C-final in fifth.
Kelly Fertel swam for the Gators in the 200 IM B-final. She touched seventh at 1:58.67 to earn a B-cut.
Sherridon Dressel and Emma Ball rounded out the night for Florida in the 50 free, both earning B-cuts. Dressel placed seventh in the B-final at 22.62, while Ball finished fifth in the C-final at 22.82.
“The young girls are having a lot of best times and are improving a lot. We just have to get better, but they’re doing a tremendous job,” said head coach Gregg Troy. “We had strong swims today, both in the morning and night. There were lots of close races, but it was a good day.”
Competition will continue Thursday morning with 400 IM, 100 fly and 200 free prelims beginning at 10 a.m. The men will also hold 3-meter prelims beginning at 1 p.m., and the finals of those aforementioned events will start at 6 p.m.
Results can be viewed live on utsports.com and will be posted in full on FloridaGators.com at the conclusion of each day of competition. The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network +.
South Carolina Press Release
Fynn Minuth won the SEC Championship in the men's 500-yard freestyle and Julia Vincent took home the bronze in the women's 1-meter dive to contribute to a successful second day for the Gamecocks at the 2017 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships.
South Carolina's men remain in sixth place, while the women move to ninth. The Gamecocks set five new school records and 22 personal records on the second day of competition.
On the women's side, Julia Vincent took home her second medal of the week when she finished third in the 1-meter. Vincent's preliminary mark of 358.85 set a personal record, school record, SEC record and Tennessee pool record. Lauren Reedy of Missouri went on to top Vincent in the finals with a score of 364.30, setting a new conference and pool record.
On the men's side, Fynn Minuth earned his first SEC conference title when he posted a new personal record, school record and current fastest NCAA time this season in the 500-yard free when he finished in 4:11.07. His time was good enough to earn a NCAA `A' cut and just missed the SEC record by .34 seconds.
MEN'S RECAP
Carolina started the second day of competition with four Gamecocks in the 500-yard free. Minuth and Akram Mahmoud represented South Carolina in the A final, while Tom Peribonio and Cody Bekemeyer swam in the B final. Mahmoud finished in eighth with a time of 4:17.57, Peribonio set a new PR with a time of 4:16.31 for a ninth place finish and Bekemeyer also recorded a new PR and a 10th place finish with a time of 4:17.73.
Jack Smith and Nils Wich-Glasen advanced to the finals of the 200-yard IM. Smith swam in the B final and set a PR with a time of 1:45.73 for a 15th place finish, while Wich-Glasen set a new school record and PR when he finished 17th with a time of 1:45.03.
The Gamecocks wrapped up the evening with the 200-yard freestyle relay and another new school record. Jonathan Boland, Caleb Tosh, Patrick McCrillis and Wich-Glasen came in seventh place with a time of 1:18.69.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Taylor Worrell was the only Gamecock in the women's 500-yard freestyle. She posted a time of 4:49.22, good for eighth place in the C final and 24th overall.
Emma Barksdale highlighted the women's overall performance as she set a new school record in the 200-yard IM during prelims, then turned around and broke the record again in the finals. Barksdale finished seventh overall with a time of 1:56.65 to earn a NCAA `B' cut.
South Carolina closed out the night with the 200-yard freestyle relay. Christina Lappin, Meredith Vay, McKenna Keith and Edith Lingmann finished in ninth place with a time of 1:31.37.
NOTABLE
Julia Vincent's third place finish in the 1M dive was her best career performance, topping her previous mark of 344.70.
Fynn Minuth's first place finish in the 500-yard freestyle was his best career performance. He set a new school record and currently holds the fastest time in the NCAA this season.
The Gamecocks broke a total of five school records on the day.
Carolina set 22 new personal records on day two of the conference meet.
Auburn Press Release
In a day full of personal-bests, Auburn had 27 of them over the course of prelims and finals, Ashley Neidigh’s runner-up finish in the 500 free may have been the most impressive of all. A senior, her 500 free time headlined what was a day of massive point grabs and time drops for the Auburn swimming and diving teams at the SEC Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., on Wednesday.
Auburn’s women’s team sits in third place with 371 points while the men goes into Thursday in second place with 346 points.
“All season we’ve talked about how important it is to have confidence and they have swum with confidence for a while now,” associate head coach Lauren Hancock said. “It’s refreshing to see that they are so focused in on each session and within each session each event.”
After dropping two seconds off of her previous personal best during Wednesday’s prelims, Neidigh raced to a 4:39.91 out of lane 5 in the finals, shaving almost a second-and-a-half off her prelims time, making her the fourth-fastest performer in school history in the event. In doing so she became the first Auburn women’s swimmer to finish top-8 in the 500 free at SECs since Katie Gardocki, Maggie Bird and Stephanie Horner finished fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in 2010. Her runner-up finish is also Auburn’s highest since 2008 when Bird was the runner-up in 4:40.38.
“I was kind of in disbelief for a little bit because that has been my goal (time) for a few years,” Neidigh said. “To finally do it, have the hard work pay off, and also score that many points for Auburn, was just exciting for me.”
“That win for Ashley was a testament to how far she’s come,” Hancock said. “It brought a lot of us to tears because we know the path that she’s had. She is very deserving of what transpired tonight and it was one of the most exciting races I’ve ever been a part of as a coach.”
Maddie Cox became the first Auburn female to finish top-eight on the 1-meter since Vennie Danton won the event in 2012 as she placed sixth with a personal-best 313.95, topping her previous personal-best of 307.05 set during prelims. Paired with her seventh-place finish on the 3-meter on Tuesday, Cox became the first Auburn female diver to finish top-eight on both springboards at the conference championships since Danton and Anna Aguero did it in 2012.
“Maddie was really consistent in prelims and increased her personal best in the finals,” head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “The one thing that we talked about coming into this competition was, ‘look at your personal bests throughout the year try and be better than your average.’ I’ve always believed in her ability and this meet is going to be very beneficial to her as we look to the Zone Diving Championships.”
The women also had a trio of consolation finals winners in Zoe Thatcher in the 500 free in 4:42.67, Julie Meynen in the 50 free in 22.11, a personal-best and the fifth-fastest time in Auburn history, and Alison Maillard with a personal-best 301.25 on the 1-meter.
Meynen was one of four Auburn women to swim in the 50 free consolation finals, joining 11th-place finisher Allyx Purcell (22.37), Ashton Ellzey (22.55, 14th) and Robyn Clevenger (22.83, 16th).
Aly Tetzloff, Ellzey, Meynen and Purcell also teamed up to take second in the 200 free relay in 1:27.86.
Bailey Nero won the C Final of the women’s 200 IM, shaving three-quarters-of-a-second off of her morning personal-best to touch in 1:57.99. Her start helped propel her to the front of the heat early as her 24.91 fly split was the fastest in the heat by .37 seconds. Her finals time moves her from the ninth-fastest to the sixth-fastest performer in Auburn history, surpassing Oliva Scott, Melanie Roberts and Sarah Peterson.
Erin Falconer took 14th in the 500 free in a personal-best 4:44.81.
On the men’s side the 200 IM allowed Auburn to make its first big move of the championships, bringing five swimmers back and collecting a total of 76 points. Joe Patching finished fourth in 1:42.63 and Michael Duderstadt eighth in 1:45.45 to top all Auburn finishers. Tommy Brewer was 13th in a personal-best 1:45.50 and Petter Freriksson, swimming the event for the third time due to a swim-off, was 14th in a personal-best 1:45.69. Foster Ballard finished in 1:47.66 to take 24th.
It was another massive points grab for the men in the 50 free as Auburn sent seven to the blocks over the three finals. Zach Apple took fifth in a personal-best 19.23, two spots ahead of Peter Holoda in seventh (19.43). Kyle Darmody took 10th overall in 19.53 and Ziv Kalontarov 15th in 19.86. Hugo Morris (19.84, 19th), Liam McCloskey (20.09, 23rd) and Santiago Grassi (20.10, 24th) rounded out the group. In total Auburn added 86 points to its total in the event.
“We had two very good sessions, and I think the morning was better than the night,” associate head coach Sergio Lopez said “The energy that we created this morning and afternoon is going to carry on through the rest of the meet.
“We don’t have a guy that goes 17.8 but I think we are building something for the long term,” Lopez said. “The depth shows how well these kids train.”
The night concluded with both the men’s and women’s 200 free relay teams earn runner-up finishes, the women in 1:27.86, just .29 behind winner Georgia, and the men in 1:16.03, .36 behind winner Florida.
Thursday morning’s prelims session begins at 9 a.m. CT and will include the 400 IM, 100 fly and 200 free.
Texas A&M Press Release
Texas A&M senior Sarah Gibson struck gold in the 500-yard free and sophomore Sydney Pickrem shattered the Aggie women’s oldest school record to highlight day 2 at the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday at the Jones Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus.
The defending SEC Champion Aggies kept the team lead for a second straight day with 488 points and were trailed by Georgia (410), Auburn (371), Missouri (349), Tennessee (344), Kentucky (310), Florida (238), LSU (231), South Carolina (203), Alabama (187), Arkansas (133) and Vanderbilt (30).
Gibson got the Aggies off to a fast start with a victory in the 500-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 4:38.92. It was Gibson’s second career individual SEC Championship after her win in the 100 butterfly in 2016. The Aggies accumulated 72 points in the race with senior Sycerika McMahon finishing eighth in 4:46.38 and sophomore Claire Rasmus and freshman Sarah Metzsch grabbing the top two spots in the C final in 4:41.07 and 4:45.16, respectively. Junior Caitlyn Moon also chipped in a 23rd place finish in 4:49.02.
“Sarah swam a good, smart, solid race,” Aggie head coach Steve Bultman said. “She took care of business and raced home at the end. She was well-paced, even splits so that was good to see. We also got some solid points from Sycerika McMahon, and Claire Rasmus and Sara Metzsch had really strong swims in the evening.”
The Aggies scored huge points in the 200 IM with seven swimmers in the A or B final combining for 149 points. Leading the way was Pickrem, who earned runner-up honors while breaking the oldest school record in the Aggies’ record book with a time of 1:53.64. The old record of 1:54.45 was set by fellow Canadian Julia Wilkinson at the 2010 NCAA Championships.
“We scored a ton of points and we finally broke the school record in the 200 IM record with Sydney,” Bultman said. “We’d been close a bunch of times but couldn’t get it done until tonight. Unfortunately Sydney didn’t win the race but was a close second and smashed the school record.”
Junior Bethany Galat also made the 200 IM award podium for the bronze medal in a lifetime-best 1:54.86, followed by junior Lisa Bratton in fifth (1:56.30) and sophomore transfer Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo in sixth (1:56.60). Junior Kristin Malone won the B final in 1:57.17 and was trailed by senior Ashley McGregor in 13th (1:58.35) and junior Esther Gonzalez in 16th (1:58.88).
Junior Béryl Gastaldello, the Aggies’ school record holder in the 50 free, placed fourth in the race with a time of 21.95, while freshman Amy Miller chipped in six points with a 19th place finish in 22.76 and sophomore Lexie Lupton was 24th in 23.02.
The Aggies received points from all three of their divers in the one-meter dive with seniors Madison Hudkins and Zoe Alaniz and sophomore Alaïs Kalonji combining for 24 points. Hudkins placed 11th with a 298.0 point total, Alaniz was 20th with 274.90 and Kalonji placed 22nd with 263.15 points.
Texas A&M closed out the day with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard free relay with the foursome of Gastaldello, Malone, Miller and Lupton finishing in a season-best and NCAA “B” cut time of 1:28.85.
Georgia Press Release
Chase Kalisz had a record-setting performance in the men’s 200-yard individual medley to highlight Georgia’s showing at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Wednesday.
After two days of competition, the Lady Bulldogs are second with 410 points, trailing Texas A&M’s 488. The Bulldogs stand fourth with 314 points, behind Florida’s 486.5, Auburn’s 346 and Texas A&M’s 324.
Kalisz won the men’s 200 individual medley with a time of 1:41.28, edging Florida’s Mark Szaranek’s 1:41.30. Kalisz shattered the SEC meet record of 1:41.66 set by Florida’s Ryan Lochte in 2005 and the pool record of 1:41.88 established by South African Darian Townsend in 2013. Kalisz also won the 200 individual medley in 2013 and he now owns six individual SEC titles.
“It was a little sloppy. It’s not really where I wanted it to be or where I think it should be,” Kalisz said. “But it’s all about racing right now and I’m happy with that. I don’t think about records or times at this meet. It’s all about scoring as many points as I can for the team, so I’m more happy about that.”
Georgia’s other title of the night came in the women’s 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Olivia Smoliga, Veronica Burchill, Emily Cameron and Chantal Van Landeghem claimed the conference crown for the fourth straight year with a time of 1:27.57.
“I think we needed this to end today on a good note and to get us started for (Thursday),” Cameron said. “I think Thursday is going to be a good day for us. I’ve never seen a UGA team not thrive in the face of challenges. We’ll keep working these next few days and hopefully come out on top.”
In the men’s 500 freestyle, Kevin Litherland (4:15.98), Jay Litherland (4:16.41) and Walker Higgins (4:16.54) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Clayton Forde, registering his third 500 of the day due to a swim-off during prelims, came in 16th with a time of 4:21.35. Aidan Burns followed in 20th at 4:19.84.
Also in the men’s 200 individual medley, Gunnar Bentz claimed fifth in 1:43.81 and Javier Acevedo came in 12th with a time of 1:45.39.
The men’s 200 freestyle relay of Taylor Dale, Acevedo, Bentz and Jay Litherland took eighth in 1:18.88.
Smoliga finished second in the women’s 50 freestyle with a time of 21.56, followed by Van Landeghem in fifth at 22.07 and Burchill in 12th at 22.39.
Rachel Zilinskas came in fifth in the women’s 500 freestyle as she reached the wall in 4:42.22. Stephanie Peters placed second in the consolation final to take 10th in 4:42.96.
On the women’s 1-meter springboard, Olivia Ball rolled up 327.75 points to place fifth.
Meaghan Raab finished eighth in the women’s 200 individual medley as she stopped the clock in 1:59.44. Cameron placed 10th in 1:57.28 and Megan Kingsley took 11th in 1:57.65. Caitlin Casazza touched in 2:00.51 to come in 24th.
Texas A&M’s Mauro Castillo and Cory Bolleter shattered school records to highlight the Aggie men’s second day at the 2017 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday at Jones Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus.
Texas A&M stands in third place after two days of competition with 324 points behind second-day leader Florida (486.5) and Auburn (346). Rounding out the field were Georgia (314), Alabama (287), South Carolina (278), Tennessee (261.5), LSU (199), Kentucky (196) and Missouri (186).
Castillo broke the school record in the 200-yard IM twice on Wednesday and ended up winning the consolation final with a time of 1:44.12. Castillo, who came into the day with a lifetime best of 1:45.88, took down the old standard of 1:45.39 by Simon Frank from the 2014 SEC Championships with a time of 1:45.09 in the morning prelims. Castillo now owns a trio of school records – the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 IM. Junior teammate Brock Bonetti also went under Frank’s old school record with a time of 1:45.08 while placing third in the consolation final (11th overall).
“Mauro actually looked up at the record board earlier this season and said ‘I’d like to have all three of those records,’” Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. “He’s had his heart set on getting the 200 IM record after he got so close last year. It was a great swim and a testament to his heart and hard work.”
Bolleter just missed a spot on the 50 free award stand with a fourth-place finish in a time of 19.22. Earlier in the day, Bolleter obliterated the school standard in the race with a 19.04 clocking that took down the old record of 19.32 by Kyle Troskot at the 2014 American Short Course Championships.
“Cory pretty much destroyed our school record in the 50 free,” Holmes said. “Three-tenths may not seem like a lot to people but it’s a long way to go in the 50 free. Every tenth that you go faster is a big deal. His time in the morning puts him in a pretty elite group of people so that was really fun to see him do that.”
The Aggies also received points from freshman Adam Koster and senior Jacob Gonzales in the consolation final. Koster placed 14th overall in 19.74 while Gonzales placed 16th in 20.00. The trio combined to score 50 points for the Aggies. Koster’s path included a swim-off for the last spot in the B final that resulted in tie (in a career-best 19.70) and required a second swim-off that he won with a time of 19.77.
The Aggies closed out the night with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free relay with the foursome of Bolleter, Koster, freshman Raiz Tjon-A-Joe and Gonzales touching in a season-best time of 1:17.52, which makes them the second-fastest 200 free relay in school history.
